


How to Become a Jaeger Pilot in 706 Days

by LittleMusket, WaywardLeviathan



Series: How to Save The World in 2,441 Days [1]
Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Chuck Hansen Lives, F/F, F/M, Gen, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Character of Color, M/M, Stacker Pentecost Lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2018-12-01 21:03:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11494701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleMusket/pseuds/LittleMusket, https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaywardLeviathan/pseuds/WaywardLeviathan
Summary: Since the first kaiju attack in 2012, hundreds of people have come forward to train and pilot giant robots. One of those people is Malley Eskridge, a teenager from Oregon. Instead of training on Kodiak Island with the other recruits, she is sent to the LA Shatterdome to work with a group of three other youngsters for training with a heavier focus on the other areas of the PPDC. It's all peaches until she meets the only other teenager on the team, a Welsh girl named Quinn Bates. Fun and nonsense ensue.Takes place between May 2018 and April 2020.





	1. Yellow Roses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> check out the pinterest board! it showcases important character points, relating quotes, and an idea of what the characters look like!  
> [How To Save The World on Pinterest](https://pin.it/ysn5f5pitzq35s)

**May 9th, 2018**

**Coos Bay, Oregon**

 

Sunlight shone in through the open kitchen window. A pleasant spring breeze flooded into the house through the open sliding doors. The only sounds are that of birds, wind chimes, a watering hose, and the nearby ocean. Wait, scratch that. A loud sigh interrupts all those delightful noises and is followed by the sound of plastic clanking across the marble countertop, and a bird squawking in surprise. A 15-year-old girl sits on a stool at the kitchen island, a Rubix cube on the side opposite of her’s. Her galah cockatoo turns his head this way and that to get a better look at the weird thing that caused his kid so much frustration. Huffing, she combs her fingers through her wavy brown hair to calm down.

“I don’t know how people do it, Ammy!” She exclaimed, watching the pink bird move closer to the cheap toy.

“Malley Malley Mark,” he replied, then mimicked the sound of the cube hitting the counter. This made Malley smile. She always loved his chatter, especially when it made no sense.

The sound of flip-flops clicking on cement approaches the open doors, and a middle-aged woman steps inside, complaining about the heat being so intense for a May morning. This is Ella Eskridge, Malley’s mother. She’s a very kind, lovely woman; always digging around in her garden or laughing with her family.

“Rubix cubes are stupid,” Malley half-shouted, “Erno Rubik can kiss a goose.” Reaching across the table, she picks the devil square back up. She stares at it. She judges it.

“Now, now. Erno Rubik hasn’t done anything wrong.” Ella chided, pulling the doors shut. She took off her hat to reveal golden brown hair tied neatly into a bun. While walking to the other side of the island, she took the puzzle from her daughter’s hands and fiddled with it, twisting the colors back and forth. Malley just rolls her eyes and pets Ammy’s head with a finger. Sassy teenager. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she looked through her apps and pondered which one to look at, deciding on Tumblr. Heck yeah.

 

A few minutes of comfortable silence passed before the duo heard a car door shut. Ella stood up and went to the front door to open it for her wife, Adelia, who was carrying three or four bags of groceries.

“Welcome home, dear!” Ella said, putting on her sweetest old lady voice.  
“Oh, it’s good to be home, dear.” Adelia laughed. “Malley, the mailbox has something in it. Why don’t you go check?”

Setting her phone down, she walked out to the mailbox. Their front porch was surrounded by a nice flower bed, full of carnations and marigolds, Malley’s favorite. There were also some yellow rose bushes, which were the pride and joy of her late father, Mark. They had even buried him with those roses. Seeing the bright flowers made Malley a little happier. Yellow was her father’s happy color, and she had eventually picked it up, too. She had painted her nails yellow, kept a yellow hair tie around her wrist. Hell, she was even wearing a yellow tank top today. Picking up her pace, she opened the mailbox and began flipping through the letters, her thoughts lingering on the yellow roses. Bill, bill, a postcard from some private college in Tennessee, a letter from the PPDC, another bill. Pausing, Malley flipped back to the PPDC letter and stared at it. Her heartbeat picked up and she gasped for breath she didn’t know she was holding. Slamming the mailbox shut, she raced back through the yard and cleared the porch stairs in one jump. Upon entering the house, she tried to stop at the kitchen island but slipped and hit the floor. Right, socks are a thing.

 

“Woah, Malley! What’s got you so excited?” Ella asked, a hint of knowing in her voice. Pulling herself up using the counter edge, Malley slapped the PPDC letter in front of her mother, blue eyes wild.

“I know,” Adelia said, equally excited, “I checked the mailbox before I left this morning.”

“Go on,” Ella said, pushing the envelope back towards her daughter. “Open it!”

 

Carefully breaking the seal, Malley pulled out a packet of paper. Her hands were shaking so much that she could barely hold onto the letter. Unfolding it, she read it once, then twice, then set it down in disbelief. Spinning around, she tangled her fingers in her hair and took a deep breath before picking up the letter again. Flipping to the second page, she took one look at the title before realizing that this was it. This was actually happening. Malley Eskridge, a 15-year-old nobody from a little town in Oregon, has really been accepted into the PPDC.

 

“I’m gonna be a Jaeger pilot,” she whispered, looking through the list of required and suggested items for her dorm in the nearest Shatterdome. Setting the paper down once more, she had to stop herself from crying when she saw how proud her mother looked. Malley walked around the counter and hugged both her moms.

 

“I’m so proud of you, baby,” Adelia said, squeezing Malley’s torso. All three released the hug and wiped their eyes.

“Well,” Ella began, “read it to me. I want to know everything.”

Taking a deep breath, Malley willed herself not to stumble on her words.

 

“ _Dear Malley,_

 

_I am delighted to inform you that your submitted form has been reviewed and you have been ACCEPTED into the Jaeger Program. Below is information about your training base and team. Attached is a list of required and suggest items. You have until June 1st to relocate to your designated Shatterdome. If you are unable to in that time, please notify your trainer._

 

_Thank you for joining the fight._

 

_Sincerely, Marshall Stacker Pentecost_

 

_Training Team #303_

_Location: Los Angeles Shatterdome, Los Angeles, California_

_Trainer: Russel Valdez_

_Partners: Santiago Gonzales, Male, 23_

_May Powers, undetermined, 22_

_Quinn Bates, female, 15_

_Room Number: 614_

 

 _Also, see attached list of required and suggested items._ ”

 

Malley looked over the item list once again, going over items in her head. Clothes, personal hygiene supplies, shower supplies, extra blanket, required medication, yadda yadda yadda. Lifting herself onto the counter, she closed her eyes and sighed. 22 days to pack and travel to Los Angeles. It all seemed so surreal. Since K-Day, Malley had dreamed of joining the PPDC. Perhaps she had a death wish or a passion for humanity. Perhaps she had a subconscious desire to get revenge for her father. Whatever it was, there was no turning back now. In 22 days, Malley Eskridge would become a name known to all do humanity.

 

“Well,” Ella said, taking a deep breath, “time to start packing!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes sorry about the -tense changes!


	2. Daydreaming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Malley leaves her cozy home of Coos Bay, Oregon, for Los Angeles, and meets many exciting people in the Shatterdome, including two of the most famous Jaeger pilots in the program.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> check out the pinterest board! it showcases important character points, relating quotes, and an idea of what the characters look like!  
> [How To Save The World on Pinterest](https://pin.it/ysn5f5pitzq35s)

**May 19th, 2018**

**Coos Bay, Oregon → Los Angeles, California**

 

Early mornings were very surreal to Malley. It was as if everything stopped existing and wouldn’t start again until daybreak. There was something eerie about the way the streetlights shone through the fog this morning. She took a moment to appreciate this final moment with the view from her bedroom window. Her heart felt so heavy it nearly choked her. Turning away, Malley did a onceover of her room to make sure she didn’t miss anything. Clothes, brush, makeup, medicine. Charger, photo album, favorite books. Sure that she had everything, she picked up her backpack and the last suitcase and headed downstairs.

“Almost ready?” Adelia asked as she came back in from outside.

“Yep, just these two bags! I’ll carry my backpack,” Malley smiled, handing the suitcase to her stepmother. “I’m gonna say goodbye to Ammy.”

Adelia took the last bag out to the car and reminded Malley to shut the front door when she came out. She nodded and proceeded to Ammy’s cage. The galah seemed pretty stirred this morning. He knew something was up. Malley opened the cage and let Ammy hop onto her forearm before bringing him out.

“I’m gonna be gone for a while,” she began, nearly breaking down into tears right then and there. “I’m going to Los Angeles to train for the PPDC.”

Ammy’s head feathers fluffed up and Malley tried smoothing them back down, but he raised them again. Giving a sad laugh, she kissed her dear bird one last time before putting him back in his cage.

“I love you, Ammy,” she said, backing away from the cage.

“Love love!” Ammy squawked, extending his wings. He made a kissy noise and Malley felt a few tears roll down her cheeks. Half walking, half jogging to the front door, she turned the lights off before leaving, taking one last look at Ammy.

Just as Malley had gotten situated in the car, another pulled up on the curb and one of Adelia’s work friends got out and waved as she went inside.

“What?” Malley asked, confused.

“That’s Sarah. She’s gonna watch Ammy while we’re gone.”

“Oh,” Malley remembered. “Right.”

“Well, let’s get this show on the road!”

Dark trees flashed by the window, their trunks shrouded in morning mist. Malley recorded the forest in the ten seconds Snapchat gave her, then saved and sent it to her backup account to watch at the end of the year. She didn’t really have any friends, unfortunately; one of the downsides of being home schooled your whole life. Looking at the clock on the dashboard, Malley sighed and returned her attention to the forest. It was a four hour drive from Coos Bay to Portland, and then a two and a half hour flight from there to L.A., and they had only been driving for two hours. Malley groaned, lifting herself up a little to wake up her lower back.

“Malley,” Ella said, turning around from her spot in the passenger seat. “We’re gonna stop at this rest stop so I can drive.” Perfect! Malley could finally stretch her legs.

 

After everyone piled back into the car, Malley dug through her backpack and switched her book for her headphones. Plugging them in, she shuffled through her music until she found Honeybee by Steam Powered Giraffe. The somber song always managed to lull her to sleep. She turned her body towards the door and rested her head on the seat, watching the trees go by before dozing off.

 

It was a hazy nap. Malley was in and out of sleep for about an hour. Odd dreams arise from these naps, but she always forgets them. The car hit a bump in the road, which jolted Malley from her comfortable position and made her smack her head on the window. Huffing, she shifted again. She unlocked her phone and looked through her playlists until she got to the one she had named after herself. ‘ _Just one more hour,_ ’ she thought. ‘ _Onem ore._ ’

 

After that, it wasn’t long before they reached the airport. All at once, Malley felt like a child again. She didn’t want to leave her mother in this moment, but she knew she would have to eventually. Adelia helped Malley pile her suitcases onto a cart and wheel it to the check in. Once everything was settled and Malley could continue on her own, Ella pulled her into one of her bear hugs and choked back tears.

“I’m so proud of you, babe. “ Ella said, squeezing Malley tighter. She only called her ‘babe’ when she got really emotional. “I love you so much. Don’t forget that.”

Malley was near tears as well. “I know. I love you too.” She tightened her grip on her mother. The two stayed like that for a minute or so. Neither had expected this goodbye to be so hard. It wasn’t even really a goodbye. Adelia had gotten Skype just for this; they would always be a call away, but the truth about everything began to set in. Once Malley completed her training, she would be out there on the field, fighting giant aliens that no one really knew anything about until it was too late to use the information. There was the chance that she would die every time she went out, and that her body would never be recovered. They would have to fill her casket with yellow roses and PPDC posters. The thought of it made Ella shed her tears.

Clearing her throat, Ella pulled away and wiped her tears, then placed a hand on Malley’s cheek. “We’ll always be here for you.” Malley nodded, wiping away her own tears. Adelia wrapped her arms around both, her own eyes blurred with tears. Malley hugged her stepmother and then stepped back to look at the boarding schedule. Her flight would be boarding soon. Ella kissed her daughter’s head one last time, and Malley thought of the day her father left and promised to return.

“Flight 303 is now boarding,” a voice said over the intercom. Malley smiled at her moms, who waved as she walked away.

“Don’t you think it’s interesting how her training team and flight number are both 303?” Ella asked as she walked hand-in-hand with her wife.

“What a strange coincidence,” Adelia hummed, dodging her way into those stupid rotating doors.

Malley had never been on a plane, so the flight was rather exciting. Being the daydreamer that she was, she had no problem just watching the clouds, trying to pinpoint shapes and animals. Upon their arrival to Los Angeles, Malley saw a girl in the crowd holding a sign with her name on it. Twisting her way through the people, she tapped the girl on the shoulder.

“Hi! I’m Malley.”

“Oh! Hi, I’m Vanessa, I work at the Shatterdome. Come on!” Vanessa grabbed Malley’s hand and pulled her through the crowd and into the airport, where they waited for Malley’s luggage. Vanessa leaned forward on her toes and scanned the people walking by, and Malley couldn’t help but study her. She wore a black hoodie, army pants and combat boots, and must have been of east Asian descent.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but where is your family from?” She asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

“Oh, not at all! My great grandparents came from South Korea. Where is your family from?”

“My mother’s family lived in Iowa and my father’s family came from France, Spain, and Mexico.”

“Exciting lineage,” Vanessa said, checking the time on her phone. “We need to be at the Shatterdome in half an hour; your trainer is excited to meet you.”

“Well, we’d better hurry this luggage up.” Malley said, spotting her bags a moment later. “Speak of the devil!” She grabbed the first two from the belt while Vanessa grabbed the last, and followed her out of the airport and to a car that seemed to be a mile into the parking lot.

“Sorry about the walk,” Vanessa apologized, setting Malley’s luggage in the back seat. “You know how it goes in a metropolis! Everyone is trying to get everywhere.”

“It’s no worry!” Malley set her own bags in the back and took shotgun. “To the Shatterdome!” Vanessa laughed at started the car, and they made small talk on the way there. They learned about one another on the drive there; Vanessa was 18 and just finished an internship with Jaeger Tech, and secured a job repairing jaegers as they returned from battle. They exchanged Snapchats and numbers, in case either fell through, and laughed until they arrived. There were two gates they had to go through; one to enter the complex and the other to enter the staff parking lot, and Malley was almost bursting with excitement. They entered the building into the main lobby, where they handed Malley’s luggage to a man with a cart, who said he would take her luggage upstairs.

Vanessa said goodbye to Malley and directed her to the center of the room, where a man in a PPDC uniform stood, waiting. Malley approached him.

“I’m Malley. I was enlisted a few weeks ago.” She said. He nodded.

“I know. I’m Russel Valdez, your trainer.” He extended his hand. She took it and they shook. “Nice to meet you. I look forward to seeing what you can do.” He gestured for her to follow.

 

“This is the main lobby. Not much happens here. People come and go. Workers check in over there.” He pointed to an office off to the side. “Over there is the Jaeger Bay. We’ll go look at that once you’ve met your new best friends.” He led her to an elevator, and they went up a few floors. Malley didn’t see which button he’d pushed. When they got off, he led her down a hall, then another hall, and another one after that.

They finally came to a large room with a huge mat in the middle, one wall lined with lockers and the other with training equipment. There was a set of bo staffs, and a shelf of boxing gloves. In one of the corners was a punching bag, and in another was a climbing rope. The other two corners had seats and mini fridges, stocked with water. Malley saw that her luggage had been left in one. In the middle of the mat, there sat two people.

 

“Welcome to the Kwoon.” Russel said. “This is where you’ll train, day and night. Those two are Santiago and May, two of your new best friends.” Russel led Malley down the small flight of steps and to the trainees, and sat down next to them. Malley sat down a small distance away.

Santiago was pretty handsome, Malley would give him that. Short black hair, dark brown eyes, and brown skin that practically glowed. He looked very bored with everything and only gave Malley a brief wave before continuing to look at his phone.

May was also a looker. Malley still wasn’t sure how to address them, as their gender had been undetermined in the letter, but she didn’t mind. May had dark brown hair, worn in dreadlocks. Their eyes were a more chocolate brown, and their skin was darker than Santiago’s, but still gorgeous. “To get it out of the way,” they said, “between the time they wrote the recruitment confirmation letter and now, I came out as transgender. My name is May and I’m a guy.”

Malley nodded and smiled. “Heck yeah, dude. Rock on.”

May chuckled and stuck his hand out for Malley to shake, and she graciously complied. She saw Russel smile out of the corner of her eye. She felt her stomach twist because while May was friendly, neither of these men seemed all too impressed with her. She could only hope that they wouldn’t be too aggressive, seeing as they were all competing for the same thing; the favor of Stacker Pentecost.

 

“Malley, each of us have a locker here in the Kwoon. Your’s will be number 8. Once you get settled into your dorm, we can run through here and drop training essentials off before dinner.”  Russel said, handing her a lanyard with a single key on the hook. Malley ran her thumb over the ridges and studied the raises in the casting. Russel cleared his throat obnoxiously and turned to the two men on the mat.

“Would you two bludgers like to accompany Malley and I to the Jaeger Bay?” Russel said, emphasis on the word ‘bludgers.’ Malley held back a snort, not expecting such vicious Australian slang from her seemingly professional Mexican trainer.

“Well, for starters, the only person I want calling me a bludger is that Hercules Hansen.” Santiago said, nudging May in the ribs. May winked and nudged him back, and the two got up and joined Malley and Russel by the door. The group departed down the hall, taking the same three turns as before, and boarded the elevator. He hit the ‘1’ button, and they went down. The doors opened, and Malley found the lobby almost exactly as it had been when she arrived. Russel led them across the large room and into a much, much bigger one.

“Welcome to the Jaeger Bay.” He said, turning back to his team. He smiled at Malley as she stared, her mouth partially open in awe. Santiago and May shared a look and gave each other a small smile. They had done the same thing when they first saw the gargantuan room. Russel turned back around and they moved towards a blue Jaeger with a large chest fin. ‘ _Romeo Blue_ ,’ Malley thought.

“Romeo Blue,” Russel echoed her thoughts, stopped and looked up at the giant metal monster. “Piloted by Bruce and Trevin Gage. They’ve killed one kaiju alone, Hardship, and have been on numerous team drops.”

Malley knew all about the Jaeger. She’d watched news stories and interviews over and over. While she wouldn’t really classify them as her personal heroes, she admired and respected the Gage brothers. Malley took a moment to look at all the details on the machine. There were several scratches on the blue body, revealing long streaks of silver beneath. The pictures were almost always full body shots, too far away to get a clear picture of the little things.

Malley was pulled out of her trance when May tugged on her arm. Russel had already moved onto the next Jaeger.

“This is Mammoth Apostle, the newest Mark IV. She’s still under construction but is very close to being completed. One of you may be selected to transfer to Kodiak Island to pilot her if you show real aptitude with me.”

 

Russel looked up and watched as cranes moved around and amber sparks flew off various places on the chestplate. This Jaeger was a russet red color, and appeared very muscular, if it made sense. Thick plates and broad shoulders and arms; a high defense-low mobility jaeger. Mechs of this stature are usually placed closer to cities during team drops.

“And over there,” Russel gestured to a closed off port next to Mammoth Apostle’s, “is where a new Jaeger will be built. We have enough funding to experiment with technology, and so she’ll be an experiment of sorts. Primarily Mark IV tech with as many advancements as we can cram in before she’s complete.”

“You mean, like Mark V technology?” Malley asked. There wasn’t even a Mark V Jaeger yet!

“That depends on if it works. Assuming it does, it’ll be the weirdest jaeger we’ve ever built.” Russel laughed and turned back to his trainees.

 

“When you finish your training, we will have a long sparring session, two rounds per every person, which Marshal Stacker Pentecost will observe. You’ll use several weapons, from bo staffs to your bare hands. I will be beside the Marshall, telling him about each of you. He will know your personalities, strong points, weak areas, and how much you’ve improved over these next few years. He will select two of you to pilot the new Jaeger. From there, you will train on Kodiak Island to finalize the decision.”

“What about the rest?” May asked.

“You’ll be offered a position elsewhere in the Shatterdome. LOCCENT, K-Science, J-Tech, places like that. You’ll have two job options, and the option to leave the PPDC all together.”

“What if you get picked and you decide you don’t want to be a pilot after all?” Santiago asked.

“It isn’t the best idea to turn down an offer like that, especially from Pentecost. But, if you’re absolutely positive you don’t want to be a pilot, you’ll be given the same options as the others, and a second candidate will be picked and the test will be run again.”

Santiago nodded. “Sounds reasonable.” He looked back at the closed port. “What’ll her name be?”

“Still deciding,” Russel said, checking his watch. “Come on, I want to get this done before dinner.”

The group spent the next few hours exploring the Shatterdome. Russel gave each of them a piece of paper, listing what was on each floor, as well as IDs to put on their key lanyards.

_1st Floor - Lobby, Jaeger Bay_

_2nd Floor - Mess Hall_

_3rd Floor - Kwoon_

_4th Floor - Kaiju Lab_

_5th Floor - Staff Rooms_

_6th Floor - Staff Rooms, Our Rooms (614, 615, 616)_

_7th Floor - LOCCENT, Jaeger Bay balconies_

_8th Floor - Drivesuit Room, Pilot Rooms_

 

“It’s almost seven,” May said, grunting as he set one of Malley’s bag of clothes down. “Russel should take us down to Mess soon.” He paused and looked at the four bags on Malley’s bunk. “Man, I hate packing.”

“Me too. I filled two bags with clothes, and the others have a bunch supplies; books, make up, that kinda stuff.” Malley was picking through her clothes, folding them and sorting them into piles to put in her dresser drawer.

The team had taken up two rooms, which were connected by a door. May and Santiago would share a room, and Malley would share the other with Quinn, who had yet to show up.

“Hey, May?” Malley asked, arranging socks and underwear in the dresser. May hummed, waiting for the question. “When am I going to meet Quinn? Have you met her?”

“I met her about a week ago, sort of. Russel needed to call Pentecost for some reason or another-- he never really said-- but we sat in on it and while Pentecost was being all serious, Quinn ran past in the background and you could hear a crash right after, and Pentecost just...sighed.” May stifled a laugh.

“That’s amazing. I bet she’ll be great at sparring.” Malley stopped sorting her clothes for a moment and dug through her backpack, pulling out four books and a picture album and set them on her bed. “You can look at those if you want.”

May looked at the books and skimmed the summaries of each: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, The Watch That Ends The Night by Alan Wolff, The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde, and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Each was worn, but in good condition. Malley’s father had given her his copies of Dorian Grey and Mockingbird, while she bought the other two. She watched as May gently flipped the pages, then set them in a stack and moved on to the pictures. He flipped through the photo album while Malley put the rest of her clothes away. She had taken it upon herself to put together all the photos from separate albums, which were always filled until about the tenth page, then left empty.

“Hey,” May said, pointing at a picture of the family during a cookout, “who are all these people?” Malley closed the drawer and sat down on the bed. She pointed to each person and named them off.

“Well, that’s me. I’m seven in this picture. That’s my dad, and my mom. My grandpa, Abuelo, as he wanted us to call him, and Grandmama. They died about a year after this cookout. My dad died on K-Day, about three years later.”

“Oh…” May cringed a little. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright,” she said, patting his back. “My grandparents died peacefully, and I like to think Dad did too.” May looked through a few more pages before handing it to her. She thanked him and set them on the dresser.

 

“Hey!” Santiago swing the door open. “Time for mess.” May jumped to his feet and all but skipped to join Santiago. Malley began to wonder if they were a thing. She followed them out into the hall, where Russel waited. They continued down to Mess and made small conversation along the way.

“So, what’s for dinner?” Santi asked Russel.

“Beef stew. It’s actually really good,” he said. They boarded the elevator and Russel hit the ‘2’ button. They went down, and joined the throng of people making their way to mess.

 

The mess hall was big, as expected. It was about double the size of the Kwoon. People moved around with trays in their hands, trying to find seats next to their crewmates and friends. The team got in line, which moved faster than Malley had expected. They got their trays, which were then loaded with a bowl of beef stew, a salad, and a roll. Malley smiled at the people behind the counter, wondering how much they were paid. It had better be living wage. After they had gotten their food, the team stood off to the side, trying not to panic as they realized they knew no one, and therefore had nowhere to sit. Russel joined them after about a minute, and paused to look around.

“You know what?” He asked, focusing on a table about halfway across the room. “I think I found the perfect spot. You’ll love it.” He led them through the clump of people moving around the tables, then stopped before one and cleared his throat. “Mind if my trainees and I sit here?”

Malley recognized the people immediately. The pit in her stomach grew a little more, and her palms got sweaty. There was no way she was about to sit with Romeo Blue’s crew team.

“Sure,” Bruce said, and both sides of the table scooted down a bit to make room for them.

“I appreciate it. My kids do, too,” Russel said, nodding to the trainees.

“So, Russel,” Trevin began, “who are you training this time around?”

“Probably my youngest batch so far. Why don’t you kids do a classic introduction thing? Name, age, where you’re from, how you got here, something along those lines?” Russel turned to Santi.

“Uh, hi. Santiago Gonzales, 23. I’m from San Francisco. I originally enlisted in the military but they thought I would do better here.”

“May Powers, 22. I was born and raised here in L.A. I would really prefer to be in K-Science but if the world needs me as a pilot, that’s what I’ll do.”

“Malley Eskridge, 15. I’m from Coos Bay, Oregon. I’ve got a few motivations, but I don’t know which one drove me to enlisting.”

The Gage twins nodded, offering welcome smiles.

“It’s nice to meet you guys,” Trevin said. They spent the next half-hour eating and telling stories. Once they finished, Russel took his team’s trays and they said their goodbyes to Romeo Blue’s crew. They returned to their rooms and settled down for the night. As Malley settled into her new bed, she sent her mom and Adelia ‘ _Te amo_.’ Not long after, she fell asleep, her stomach still in knots from the excitement of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> figured I should start writing again bc the new movie came out yesterday and i love my characters with my whole heart ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	3. One Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On their first real day in the Shatterdome, the L.A. gang talk with the Gage twins some more and meet another Jaeger team after a kaiju lands in Guatemala.

**May 20, 2018**

**Los Angeles, California**

“Up, up, up!”

Malley cringed and pulled her covers over her head as the blinding dorm light shot on and the connecting door slammed open. Russel stood there in all his morning person glory, and she could hear the boys groaning in protest. 

“What time is it?” May asked, rolling out of bed and shuffling into Malley’s room to confront Russel. His dreads were pulled up into a ponytail and several had come loose during the night. Despite having just asked, he pulled his phone out of his pocket to look at it. Who sleeps with their phone in their pocket?

“Five thirty,” Russel said, leaning against the wall. “We’ll wake up at this time each morning, you will get ready and we’ll eat breakfast before training. We will train physically until noon and eat lunch. After that, we will do standard schooling; reading, math, science, et cetera, which will prepare you for non-pilot PPDC careers. We work with a block schedule; English on one day and STEM on the next, English the day after next and so on. We’ll finish around four, which gives you time to shower before dinner if you want. You can always shower after. I don’t really care which.”

The trainees groaned, and Santi asked, “You mean we’re training today? Quinn isn’t even here yet!”

“No, no,” Russel waved his hand, “not today. We begin the day after Quinn arrives. I’m just preparing you for the workload. It’s rigorous, but if you really want to be here, it won’t be a problem.” That was reassuring, sort of?

“Hey, we should…” Malley piped up, pausing for the physical go-ahead from the others, “we should go on field trips.”

“Definitely!” Russel said, standing up straight. “We’ll frequently visit the Jaeger Bay, LOCCENT, and the lab for learning. My training squads always have the most fun.”

“So, if we’re not training today, then what are we doing?” May asked, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes and squinting against the fluorescent dorm lights.

“That’s a great question!” Russel said, pushing himself away from the wall and out Malley’s door. “Get ready and we’ll see.”

“Well!” Santi huffed, squinting at the heavy metal door as it shut behind their coach. May chuckled and bro-shoved Santi before going back into their room to change. Malley took that as her cue to get ready, too and closed the shared door after Santi followed his pal through.

 

Sighing, Malley looked through her dresser for a suitable outfit. She ended up with a plain yellow t-shirt, these amazing grey legging-sweatpants from the Gap, and black converse. Satisfied with her simple but sophisticated outfit, she took to her morning routine; brush her teeth, wash her face, brush her hair and tie it back, and then tackle her makeup. Malley never got too extravagant with things, just some eyeliner and mascara. At age 13, she decided that her signature look was double wings. She was extraordinary at making them perfectly even. When she finished with her face, she fixed her hair into a more secure look; today, it was a bun. Deeply satisfied with her appearance, she left her room and entered the hall, where Russel and the boys waited for her.

 

“Bro!” Santi exclaimed, “your eyeliner!”

“Um…” Malley said, wondering if she had smudged it on accident. “Is it okay?”

“Okay? It’s perfect! What the  _ hell _ !” Santi was absolutely losing his mind.

“Thank you!” Malley ducked her head and smiled the biggest smile she had in days.

“Alright you kids, let’s get a move on.” Russel motioned for the kids to follow and headed off down the hallway.

“Where are we going?” May asked.

“I think we’ll just go to mess early. I talked to the Gage twins a little bit last night and they said they’d save us a seat at breakfast. Lucky you guys!”

Malley mentally jumped for joy.

 

Down in the mess hall, they were serving a multitude of breakfast items. Sweet and savory alike, people milled around with their favorite meals and chatted happily before their workdays began. Malley, already terribly homesick, picked eggy in a basket, a piece of skillet fried toast with an egg in the middle, and some bacon, as well as cranberry juice. Her mother made eggy in a basket all the time before her father died, and had recently started making it again to help her depression and remind her of happier times. Malley followed her team to the table they sat at during dinner last night, where the Gage twins were already halfway done with their food.

“Good morning kids,” said Trevin, “I hope y’all slept well.”

“The beds here are surprisingly more comfortable than boot camp,” Santi said, stabbing his fork into a piece of sausage.

“Yeah,” May added. “The blankets are pretty soft, too. The rooms are way better than I expected.” Malley hadn’t really thought about the quality of the beds, but now that the boys mentioned it, she was thankful that they were so nice. The government could’ve easily cut funds and forced the shatterdomes to build crappy dorms to save money for reasons that didn’t even really exist anymore. There must have been more white cadets back then.

“So, kids,” Bruce butted in, wiping his mouth on his napkin, “tell me more about yourselves. I know you introduced yourselves last night, but I want to know who you really are. Give us a window into your soul.” Malley’s stomach dropped. She didn’t have an answer prepared!

 

“Well,” May began, thinking about himself. “I grew up in a poorer neighborhood because my dad didn’t make a lot and my mom made even less. Recently, they’ve been finding much better work and I had a good paying job out of high school. I don’t know how obvious it is, but I’m a trans man and I haven’t had any surgeries yet, but I’ve already begun the hormone transition.” May was very brave, Malley had to admit. She had a trans friend back in Oregon who rarely spoke about her transition, even though her family and most of the community accepted her for who she is. Malley knew that in big cities especially, people spoke out about LGBT people more, and May was very brave for opening up to strangers. Her respect for him doubled at this moment.

“It’s great to have you in the Shatterdome,” Bruce said, Trevin nodding beside him. “We strive to have as much diversity as we can to give regular citizens a few people to look up to.”

“What about you, Santi?” May said, turning the conversation over to his friend.

 

Sighing, Santi took an obnoxious sip of his juice box and began his story. “My dad’s a military man and whenever he was home, we spent every moment together. We build my mom the little front porch she always wanted so that we could hang out outside in the summer and watch the neighborhood and have picnics and all that. When I graduated from high school, I decided to go into the military to be just like my dad. I graduated from boot camp and was stationed here for a few years. A few weeks ago, my superior pulled me aside and said I had the makings of a Jaeger pilot, or a LOCCENT worker, or another high position in the PPDC. Something about how I was physically extraordinary and commanded respect with a look? I don’t know, but now I’m here!”

“Well,” Russel said, speaking for the first time since they sat down, “your superior either really liked you or really hated you.”

Laughing, Santi turned his attention back to his breakfast. “Yeah! She was pretty hardcore.” He started shoveling eggs into this mouth, looking to Malley to start her story.

“Oh,” Malley sighed, “where to begin?” She pushed her food around on her plate and thought about what she told them yesterday. “Well, I’ve spent years trying to figure out ways to describe myself but each time, I fail. For basics, my favorite color is yellow, my all time favorite book is Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, and since I was little I’ve felt that I’m meant to do something great for the world.” 

“That’s why you’re here!” Trevin said.

“Yeah,” Malley smiled. “My dad always told that I can’t save everyone, but I still have to try because that’s who I am. Not to be a downer or anything, but I think when he died on K-Day, the universe decided that I would enlist in the academy. Actually, now that I mention it, my dad always had this weird infatuation with robots. My grandma would always mess with music boxes and tiny machines when my abuelo was at work.”

“Abuelo?” Santi interrupted. “You call your grandpa abuelo?”

“Yeah! His mom was from Mexico but moved to Spain and met his dad. When Abuelo grew up, he joined the navy and was stationed in France, where he met my grandma. They moved here to have my dad. My mom is from Iowa and she met my dad while he was there on an internship thing. I’m actually fluent in English and Spanish and I speak French pretty well, too.”

“Dang, kid!” Russel said. “No wonder they signed you so young! Three languages is rare in the United States.”

“Tell me about it!” Bruce said. “I’m ok with Spanish but team drops are a nightmare. You’ll learn to understand Spanish and Chinese codes in training. Shatterdomes in other countries teach a little bit of English to get jaegers through team drops. You partner with a lot of different people out on the field. You’ll need those skills, Malley.”

“Thank you,” she said, going back to her breakfast.

 

The table had just finished when an alarm sounded throughout the entire Shatterdome. “Romeo Blue, report to Bay 13. Kaiju approaching Guatemala. I repeat, Romeo Blue, report to Bay 13. Kaiju approaching Guatemala.”

Bruce and Trevin jumped into action, dumping their trays in the trash and following their pit crew up the stairs to the pilot elevator, which would take them directly to their bay. Everyone in the cafeteria dispersed; LOCCENT to their headquarters, K-Science to the labs to receive samples from the kill site and relay information to LOCCENT, and J-Tech to the launch area. Malley’s heart dropped and she looked at Russel, who looked rather grim himself.

“Do we want to go to LOCCENT?” He asked, looking pointedly at each member of the group.

“I mean…” Santi sighed, scratching the back of his head. “I don’t know. What if something goes wrong?”

“That’s a risk every Jaeger pilot must take. If after this battle, any of you want to leave the program, I’ll make sure you get fully refunded and make it home safe. There’s no shame in wanting to live a secure life.” The kids all nodded.

“Let’s go,” Santi said, standing his ground. There was that military man he talked about. May and Malley nodded in agreement, and Russel lead them up to LOCCENT.

 

In the windowed room that overlooked the Jaeger Bay, headquarters of LA’s LOCCENT, was complete chaos. People at computers typed furiously away and others near the front of the window watched holographic maps of Romeo Blue and the kaiju’s location. Just as Russel ushered the team behind a man who appeared to be LOCCENT head, another jaeger signaled into the com and an orange dot appeared on the map next to the blue dot of, ironically, Romeo Blue.

“Gipsy Danger reporting for duty!” The pilot shouted enthusiastically, making himself heard over the whirring of gears and crashing of Gipsy Danger’s feet against the ocean floor.

“Ugh!” Russel exclaimed, a little louder than he probably should’ve.

“What?” Malley asked, watching the map as the dots moved around. “What’s wrong with Gipsy Danger?” She had seen the Jaeger on the news. Her pilot team was made of two brothers from Alaska who seemed to love their job.

“I respect the Becket boys, but they’re too cocky.” Russel crossed his arms as he looked around the room. “They’ll humble out as they fight, but cockiness is dangerous in our line of business.”

“Oh,” Malley muttered, shuffling in place.

 

For the next half hour, everyone in LOCCENT waited anxiously as the kaiju grew closer and closer to the coast, and the jaegers applied themselves accordingly as the giant monster changed direction. Suddenly, a man entered the room and pulled Russel aside. Confused, the team followed their trainer.

“Stacker Pentecost is arriving, sir,” the man burst. “He’s here to observe LOCCENT. He wants you and your team to meet him at the helipad.” Russel took to the new duty immediately and herded his crew out the door and on their way to the helipad. For the hundredth time that day, Malley got that pit somewhere in her abdomen, anxious to meet the highest ranking officer in the entire PPDC.

 

The crew arrived at the helipad just as the helicopter was landing. The wind from the rotating blades made it hard to look directly at the flying machine. May and Russel’s hair was blown away from their faces, which looked rather majestic, really, and Malley tucked the front of her shirt into her sweatpants to keep it from flying up. The helicopter doors opened and out stepped a tall, strapping man with a military haircut and a bushy moustache; Stacker Pentecost. He stepped out of the helicopter with such grace that one would think he was born to do exactly that. Directly following him was a pale girl with dark hair, dressed to the nines in combat boots and an elegant trench coat, which flew up behind her like a cape as she jumped the short distance from the helicopter. While she was coming down, however, her coat caught on the doors and she fell flat on her face. Malley cringed. Unfazed, the girl stood up and held her nose against the sleeve of her jacket and continued on.

“Mr. Valdez, group number 303,” Marshal Pentecost said, acknowledging all persons present. Malley almost forgot that their group had a number.

“Stacker,” Russel shook Pentecost’s hand and turned back to the Shatterdome, and the group followed, all four trainees finally together in one place.

“Hey,” the girl said, looking at the group, “my name is Quinn Bates.” Her Welsh accent was heavy, and from where Malley stood, she could see the light in the girl’s blue eyes.

“Hello,” Santi and May said in unison, Santi waving as he had yesterday when Malley was introduced. They continued along in relative silence, the only noise coming from Russel and Pentecost, who discussed the current kaiju situation and what tactics Gipsy Danger and Romeo Blue were being told to use in other to tag team the kaiju.

 

LOCCENT was in more chaos when they returned than when they first arrived. While they were at the helipad, the kaiju had made landfall and engaged in battle with Romeo Blue. At the moment, Gipsy Danger stood at the ready, in case the Gage twins lost control of the situation.

“It’s best to keep Gipsy on the sidelines,” Pentecost said, his deep, accented voice commanding the attention of the room. “The Beckets are strong but inexperienced, and a bit cocky for my taste.” Russel snorted in response. Quinn stood next to Pentecost and watched the map with keen eyes, even though her nose was still bleeding. She had switched her sleeve for a handkerchief she got from...somewhere. May and Santi stood side by side, talking quietly about who the pilots were and what they knew about them. Malley just watched the people milling about, shouting commands to the pilots or updating civilians on the kaiju’s location to ensure they would evacuate safely.

 

After what seemed like forever, the Jaeger team finally took down the kaiju, and the room let go of the breath they didn’t realize they were holding. A few people returned to their computers and began typing away, preserving the communication logs between LOCCENT and the pilots. Others gave orders to helicopters above, which would send a team of scientists to the kill site to collect remains for testing, while others were deployed to pick the jaegers up.

“Both teams will return here for interviews while the battle is still fresh in their minds,” Pentecost said to the group. “After that, I will return to Anchorage with Gipsy Danger. Quinn will stay here and you will begin your training tomorrow.”

“How would you kids like to welcome the pilots back first?” Russel asked, ushering his kids to the door.

“We’d love it!” Malley said, excited to meet yet another jaeger team.

“Eh,” Quinn said. “They really aren’t that great.”

 

Russel lead the kids down to the drivesuit room and they waited with the pilot tech crew. Malley took the time to look around the room. Lockers lined one wall, much like in the Kwoon, though this room was much smaller. There were empty racks on the other wall, four to be exact. Two for Romeo Blue’s pilot suits, and two for Mammoth Apostle. In the center were two squares, and above, a rack with pneumatic impact drivers for securing the suits in place. Malley knew she knew way too much about the inner workings of a Shatterdome, but it might come in handy. It will, actually. She knew it would. Suddenly, the door opened and the pilots entered to a chorus of congratulations. Bruce and Trevin stood in their respective squares and the crew went about taking their suits off. Beneath the plated armor was a slick magnetic suit, which the Gage twins were about to take off before remembering that there was a small crowd of known minors in the room. They stepped back and retrieved their clothes from their lockers before entering a screened corner to finish changing.

“Who are you guys?” Asked one of the pilots. Malley recognized his voice from the battle. He must have been the lead pilot.

“This is my training team,” Russel said, voice stern. He gestured to the kids, who waved awkwardly.

“The next generation of pilots, gentlemen,” Pentecost said, voice strained. “Show them some respect.”

“Alright, chief,” the other pilot said. Pentecost took a deep breath and closed his eyes, actively trying not to kill this kid on the spot. The Gage twins then exited the private changing area and handed their magnetic suits to the tech crew, who hung it on the racks with the plated armor.

“These kids,” Trevin began, “are the coolest kids you’ll ever meet.”

“Kids?” Santi scoffed jokingly, eyeing Gipsy’s pilots. “I’m older than them.”

“Yeah?” The co-pilot retorted, “My name is Raleigh, Alaska born and raised, and I’m 19 and can take you in a fight any day.”

“19?” Santi laughed, glancing back at his group. “I was joking, but nice try, kid. I’m 22 and served in the military for five years.”

“Boys!” Russel said, glaring at both of them. “Keep this behavior up and you’re both out of the program. Santi, I expected better of a military veteran.”

“Apologies, sir,” Santi looked down at his feet and sat beside May, who gave him a rough pat on the shoulder. Clearing his throat, Gipsy’s pilot introduced himself.

“My name is Yancy Becket and this is my idiot brother, Raleigh. It’s great to meet you guys.” Now this man was much more likable. Having had enough of lame introductions, Pentecost stood and left the room with the Gage twins. The others had little choice but to follow their commanding officer. They were lead down the hall to the elevator, which would take them to the Jaeger Bay, where local and national news waited to report on the battle. On the trip down, Malley got sandwiched between the Becket boys.

“How old are you?” Raleigh asked, still trying to establish superiority over the Los Angeles kids.

“Um…” Malley wondered if she should be honest or not. It would be pretty fun to make up an age, but she decided against it. “I’m 15.”  
“15?” Yancy asked, blue eyes gleaming. “Why are you in the PPDC at this age?”

“Justice,” Malley answered, looking straight ahead as the elevator doors opened and let them off in the lobby.

“Wow,” Quinn spoke for the first time since they left LOCCENT, “that’s...pretty hardcore. I’m 15, too.”

“What about school?” The boys refused to drop the subject as they entered the bay, Gipsy Danger temporarily ported beside Romeo Blue.

“This program continues general schooling. I was homeschooled before so it really doesn’t matter.” Malley said, rolling her eyes alongside Quinn. Raleigh muttered a ‘nice’ before finally shutting up, putting on his most charming smile for the reporters. Russel pulled his kids aside just before the news crowd and let the pilots face the cameras, standing in all their glory in front of their giant mechas.

 

The next hour sucked. Reporters asked the same questions about the fight over and over in different forms, and you could see the pilots growing angrier as they gave the same answers. As the interviews approached plain frustrating, Pentecost called for them to end, and the reporters listened because Pentecost was the most important man in America at the moment. As they packed their cameras and laptops and left, the pilots took the opportunity to sit next to Russel and his trainees. Bruce and Trevin slumped and rubbed their eyes, while the Becket boys were still all smiles. Pentecost and several security guards officiated the departure of the reports to make sure none of them tried to sneak off and stay inside. Raleigh patted his brother on the shoulder before sitting down next to Malley.

“So…” he began, searching for something to talk about.

“She’s gay,” Quinn butted in, skooching closer to Malley, “get out of here, het boy.”

“Actually,” Malley and Raleigh began at the same time, but Raleigh let her speak first. “I’m bi,” she corrected, “but I appreciate the sisterhood here.” Raleigh gasped in what Malley assumed to be delight.

“I’m bi, too!” He said, grinning from ear to ear.

“Well,” Quinn huffed, “you two should get along swimmingly.” Raleigh chuckled and looked down at his feet.

“You know, you guys never actually introduced yourselves,” Yancy said, sitting next to his brother. “Trevin just said you were great.”

“Well,” Malley sighed. Her third introduction in two days. “My name is Malley, I’m 15. I came from Oregon. My favorite color is yellow,” she gestured to her shirt, “I love the ocean and I can speak English, Spanish, and French.” The Beckets were taken aback.

“Nice!” Quinn said, sitting upright. “My name is Quinn, I’m 15 and from Wales, and I’m here to look good in spandex and kick major kaiju ass, and also make Dad proud.” She gestured to Pentecost when she said dad, and Malley was...intrigued. The Beckets, however, seemed to know what she was talking about. May and Santi did, too. Huh.

“I’m Santi, I’m 22, as you know, and I’m here on recommendation from my military superior. Watch your back, kid.”

“Shut up, Santi,” May laughed, “My name is May, I’m a 23-year-old trans man, and I would really love to be in K-Science but I thought I might give piloting a shot, too.”

“Wow,” Yancy said, running his hand through his hair. “You guys are really diverse. That’s great! Well, I’m Yancy, I’m 22 and I want to make a difference in the world.”

“That’s sappy,” Raleigh pushed his brother. “You guys heard me earlier. Raleigh, 19, and I kick ass.” The gang laughed as the Becket boys stood up, ready to fly back to Anchorage and continue doing...whatever Alaskans do in Alaska.

“I swear to God,” Quinn said after catching her breath, “I thought you were gonna say you eat ass.”

“Oh...my god.”


	4. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A month after the kaiju attack in Guatemala, the team have settled into their training regimen and are beginning to bond.

**June 29, 2018**

**Los Angeles, California**

 

 

After the kaiju battle with Romeo Blue and Gipsy Danger, Los Angeles had settled back into its usual large city chaos. The day following the attack, Russel broke group 303 into training, establishing a weekly pattern of weight lifting with various extra activities in the Kwoon, like bo staff sparring. Schooling was weird, Malley had to admit; having a teacher that wasn’t your mother or father was...interesting. And learning with three other people! That was something completely new to Malley, but she was settling into it well enough.

The weight room was humid today. Sweat beaded on Malley’s forehead as she went about the day’s weightlifting routine; she was currently on her fourth set of squats, 5 reps at 90 pounds. Russel was shocked that even though Malley had had no previous physical training, she handled high weights extremely well with near perfect posture. However, he wanted to hold back on letting her progress so quickly so soon. So, much to Malley’s distaste, she was stuck lifting lower weights with Quinn, while May and Santi racked in at over 150 pounds. Apparently, the “good paying job” May had out of high school was in a warehouse, lifting things four times his size. Needless to say, Malley was a little upset about it.

“Five!” Quinn called from behind Malley, stepping up to help her rack the bar. “That was good. Your hips are really flexible.”

“Thanks!” Malley grinned, tugging at her shirt to cool her abdomen off. They moved to opposite sides of the bar and began putting the weights back on the rack.

“Quinn makes some good points,” Russel appeared on the floor just ahead of the weight area, arms crossed lazily, “but you need to work on keeping your heels down, Malley. You can get real low, but when you come up, your heels follow you.” He stepped up onto the mat to give them a demonstration, lowering to the ground with his hands up, like he was holding the bar. “When you push up, put your weight on your heels rather than your toes. This’ll prevent injuries and keep you solid.”

“Damn, Russel!” Santi exclaimed, coming over to the girls’ rack. “You gettin’ low for our friends here?”

“Watch yourself, Gonzales.” Russel warned, standing up straight. “You and May go ahead to the Kwoon and set up for bostaffs and boxing. You girls finish cleaning up your station and meet us in there.”

“Yes, sir,” all four trainees said at the same time. Malley and Quinn finished racking the weights and pushed the bench back in between the safety railing, then grabbed their water and followed Russel into the Kwoon.

 

“You know,” Quinn said, pulling up her shirt sleeve to expose her arm, “I’m getting pretty toned.”

Malley snorted and flexed, gesturing to the solidifying muscles. In time, she’d be buff as hell. “You’re toned? Look at me!”  
“Yeah,” Quinn fixed her ponytail, “you’re pretty tanned, too.”

“Quinn, I’m latina.”

“Oh, right.”

 

In the Kwoon, May and Santi had set out a set of bostaffs and two sets of boxing gloves, and were sitting in the middle of the mat next to Russel, who stood, waiting for the girls to enter.

“Come sit, girls,” he ordered, and the girls did. “Are any of you familiar with Muhammad Ali?”

“Um, yeah!” May said.

“Of course,” Santi replied.

“He’s, like, my hero!” Malley thought about the poster of him in her room, on her wall of heroes.

“I mean…” Quinn paused, and Malley remembered that she was born in Wales and probably had no idea who Muhammad Ali was. “I’ve...heard of him?”

“Well,” Russel began, pulling his phone from his pocket, “today, we’re going to train with his mentality: float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Stay light on your feet, and make your blows precise.” He walked over to the platform, where a radio sat. “What music do we want for this workout?”

The gang was silent. No one really had a specific workout playlist, but Malley still called out, “rap! Or R&B!”

“Alright!” Russel replied, “I’ll find a playlist. May and Santi, I want you to fight it out with bo staffs. Whoever gets four hits first wins. Girls, get to boxing. Work with the punching bag before you hit each other. I don’t have mouthguards on me right now.”

“Yes, sir,” came the chorus again. The trainees went about their new workout, and Black Skinhead by Kanye West played on the radio. Malley picked her boxing gloves and put them on while Quinn struggled in figuring out which hand went into which glove.

“How’d you get these things on?” Quinn asked, shoving her left hand into the right glove.

“They have thumbs,” Malley said, dancing around the punching bag to hype herself up, the bass from the radio thundering in her chest, alongside her heart.

“Oh,” Quinn put the gloves on the right hands and walked to the next punching bag.

“Just let out all your anger, girls!” Russel called from his position near the boys, where he was officiating what counted as hits and what didn’t.

“Hell yeah!” Quinn shouted, landing a solid punch on the center of the bag, sending it swinging before it came back for revenge. Quinn jumping back before launching her anger assault from a different angle. Malley, on the other hand, landed soft but precise punches that made the bag swing ever so slightly. Across the room, Russel made a note on his clipboard of their wildly different tactics and...way of following instructions. Malley was certainly floating and stinging, but Quinn...Quinn was just stomping on the bee.

 

“Malley!” Russel called, just after Santi landed a second hit on May. “More power!”

“Yes, sir!” Malley replied, stepping closer to the bag. She hit the bag square in the center with more strength, and looked to Russel for his approval. He nodded, and she continued.

“Quinn!” Russel now addressed the Welsh girl, who was still hitting the bag with all her might. “Less power, please! We like our punching bags to last.” Quinn sighed and landed one final hit on the bag before looking at Malley and picking up on her tactics. Russel smiled as the girls began to work at the same pace, even punching at the same time from the same side. Russel made a second note.

 

At 11, Russel let the kids return to their dorms to get ready for mess and the academic part of their training day. Malley took a shower while Quinn looked at memes on her phone. When she was done, Malley opened the bathroom door to let the steam out and went about applying her makeup. At some point, Quinn got up and came to stand behind her.

“I don’t understand why you’re putting on makeup,” Quinn said, looking at the multitude of crap Malley had in the cabinet.

“I want to look hot,” Malley replied monotonously. “Besides, its just eyeliner and mascara. Comes off in like, two wipes.” Quinn hummed and continued looking at memes on her phone while leaning on the bathroom doorway. Malley finished her makeup, applying the last perfect wing on her classic double winged eyeliner.

“Holy shit!” Quinn exclaimed, just like Santi had when he first saw them. “Those are perfect!”  
“My one talent,” Malley said humbly, smiling at her reflection. She put her wet hair in a top bun and pulled baby hairs out to frame her face. Pushing Quinn out of the way, she threw her workout clothes in her hamper and lead her roomate down the hall to the elevator, where the rest of the team waited. Russel was already in the mess hall, probably talking to the Gage twins. They boarded the elevator and Santi pushed the button to take them down the lunch.

 

The rest of the day went by without incident. Lunch with the Gage twins went on like it always did, with them and Russel gushing about updating Jaeger tech and what the other pilots do in other Shatterdomes. After, Russel took them to LOCCENT, which was usually empty around this time of day, to do their academics. Schooling today was Jaeger tech and how the Jaeger connects to the human mind, and how it has evolved since the first few dozen volunteers died from the neural overload before a two-pilot system was implemented. At the end of the session, Russel stopped the kids before they could pack up their supplies.

“I said at the beginning of your training term that we would tour other Shatterdomes. I’ve spoken with Pentecost and several other Shatterdome officials, and we have solidified two training tours in Sydney and Anchorage. We’ll be visiting Sydney in May 2019, and Anchorage in December 2019. It’s a long ways away; we still have new years and lots of predicted kaiju attacks between now and then, but I know you’re all excited about seeing your friends Raleigh and Yancy again.” Russel looked at Santi with a warning gleam in his eyes, but Malley was genuinely excited to see them again. They had appeared on TV several times since they met them last month, and Malley grew more and more attached to the hotshot Becket boy.

“Alright!” Russel interrupted her thoughts. “Head back to your dorms or hang out in the Jaeger Bay or something. You’re dismissed for the day. See you at dinner.”

“Good afternoon, sir,” May said as he piled his folders in his drawstring backpack.

“Come on, everyone!” Santi shot out of this chair and jogged to the door. “Let’s go commit some crimes!”

“Yeah!” Quinn ran after him and the two left LOCCENT and Malley and May alone. They looked at each other and shrugged, and May escorted Malley back to her room. So neither of them would be lonely, Malley opened the conjoining door and the two sat in their respective rooms; May looking over his school work and workout log, and Malley scrolling through whatever on her laptop. Eventually, May got bored of his room and came to lay in Malley’s bunk beside her. Coincidentally, the moment he settled himself in, Ella requested a Skype call. Malley’s mother was trying to video call her daughter while said daughter was in bed with a man Ella had never even heard of, save for one instance in a letter. Malley cringed.

“Oh!” May said, a smile lighting up his face. “Is that your mom?”  
“Yes,” Malley sighed, reluctantly accepting the call, and suddenly there her mother was with dear Adelia.

“Hi, sweetie!” Ella beamed, taking in Malley and her surroundings. Malley saw her eyes settle on May, and Adelia asked, “who is this young man,” with that motherly strain in her voice.

“I’m May,” he said, sitting up on his elbows, “I’m in Malley’s training group.”  
“Oh,” said the mothers.

“Yeah…” Malley looked between May and her laptop. “Our roommates are out doing…’crimes’ as Santi put it.”

“Crimes?” Ella was growing more and more concerned.

“By crimes,” May piped up, “he means dumb things like...taking an extra juice box from the cafeteria. But I don’t know about Quinn.”  
“Yeah, Quinn’s probably killed some poor J-Tech by now.”

“Poor J-Tech.”

“Well!” Adelia moved away from that conversation. “How have you been? How’s training?”

“Training is really good! Apparently I’m really good at holding heavy weights but Russel doesn’t want me lifting a lot yet, I guess.” Malley’s heart settled down, and May eased off his elbows and continued playing on his phone, listening to the conversation.

“That’s great, sweetie! I told you that you were built like your father,” Ella said, smiling nostalgically. “When we got married, he carried me every time he saw a chance.”

“I could to that,” Adelia said in a gay panic. These queers.

“I know you could, dear,” Ella leaned her head on her wife’s shoulder. “So, what else have you been up to? What about you, May?” May sat back up and smiled, looking between Malley and the screen while he thought about what to tell them.

 

Meanwhile, Quinn and Santi raced down the halls of the Shatterdome, searching for something to do. They dodged various workers, office and shop alike, who shouted swears after them, but the duo just kept running. The doors of the mess hall grew closer and Quinn slammed through them first. There weren’t very many people there, just janitors, cooks, and extra PPDC workers that took early dinner to have more uninterrupted work time.

“This is the perfect place to do crimes!” Santi beamed as he followed Quinn into the room.

“Crimes!” Exclaimed one of the poor janitors, leaning on his mop in exasperation. A table of workers turned to stare at the trainees, holding their breaths and glaring with that you-damn-kids look. Santi grinned at them and dragged Quinn to the drink fridge at the end of the serving area. He took two boxes of apple juice from the fridge and handed Quinn one before heading back out into the hall. As they left, they heard all present persons sigh in relief that their idea of crimes is taking juice boxes, which were free after breakfast anyway, and not tipping over tables or killing people.

“What do you think Malley and May are doing?” Quinn asked as she stabbed her straw into her juice box. She looked over at Santi, who had put his juice box in his pocket.

“Being legal, probably,” he chuckled. “I bet they could be crime bosses if they wanted to. May is super intense in training.”

“Yeah, I saw him kick your ass earlier.”

“That’s rude,” Santi gasped in mock horror and clutched his chest. “Malley is pretty good at that Muhammad Ali stuff, yeah?”

“Unbelievable. I mean, I got it pretty quick after I had fun with the boxing stuff, but she took it seriously right away. It was kinda scary, honestly; she got into this trance.” Quinn stopped to do the little hops Malley had been doing earlier, putting on her glassiest face. Santi laughed at her impression and they continued on. They turned a corner and started heading back to their dorms.

“That’s dope. Do you know if Russel is rotating us tomorrow?”

“He’s putting Malley and I on bostaffs and you two on boxing, I know that. I don’t know if he’s rotating partners, though.”

“Gotcha.”

 

Back in the room, Malley finished up her call with her moms.

“It was good to talk to you, Malley. We’ll call in next week!”

“Ok Mom, I love you.”

“I love you too, baby.” Ella hung up, and Malley closed her laptop and layed back with May.

“They seem nice,” he said.

“Yeah, my mom is a little overprotective sometimes. I’m her only kid, so I guess I get it.”

“I have three siblings,” May laughed, turning on his side to face Malley. “It’s Martin, me, Michael, and my sister Mariah.”

“Wow!” Malley exclaimed. “Your parents really liked m names, huh? Must be why we get along so well.”

“Yeah, maybe!” The two sat in comfortable silence before there came a knock at the door, followed by Santi and Quinn walking in immediately after. They didn’t even think of waiting for a reply.

 

“Yo!” Santi shouted as he walked in. “Y’all better not be making out!”

“Ew!” Cried Malley and May in disgust.

“He’s too old!  
“She’s too young!”

“Yeah, yeah, we’re all law abiding citizens here,” Santi laughed, shaking his juice box from the cafeteria at them before entering his own room through the connecting door. Quinn kicked her shoes off and climbed into the top bunk above Malley and May, which she had claimed as her ‘nest’ when she arrived. Malley didn’t care, though. The top bunk is dangerous.

“You see?” May gestured to Santi and his juice. “Dumb crimes.”

“I killed someone,” Quinn piped up from her bunk.

“Yeah, we know,” Malley replied, and Quinn poked her head over the edge.

“You really think I would do that?” She asked.

“I mean...you’re kind of scary,” was Malley’s answer.

“Oh.” Quinn laid back in her bunk and huffed.

“Well, it’s been real, it’s been fun.” May said as he climbed over Malley go get off the bed.  
“But it ain’t been real fun,” Malley added, smiling as he walked to the other room.

“Sooo…” Quinn peered back over the edge after May had left. “You and May, huh?”

“Absolutely not.” Malley turned towards the wall and pulled out her phone, and Quinn just continued to hang upside down.

“Glad you appreciate obvious age barriers,” Quinn said, sounding strained.

“Yeah?” Malley rolled back over. “Sit up before you die,” and Quinn flipped over the edge of her bunk and landed on the floor, then pulled out her phone, just like Malley, and the two looked at memes until Santi called them out for dinner.


End file.
